Assisted Reproductive Technology and Perinatal Outcomes

Infants conceived through in vitro fertilization have higher risk for adverse outcomes at birth — including low birth weight, preterm delivery, and perinatal death — than do infants conceived naturally. However, the relative contributions of maternal factors and assisted reproductive technology (ART) are unclear. Investigators conducted a population-based study in Norway to compare outcomes of singleton pregnancies that occurred spontaneously with those that occurred after ART.

The authors identified 2546 women who had given birth to at least one child who was conceived naturally and one who was conceived with ART. These sibling pairs showed minimal, nonsignificant differences in birth weight (9 g), gestational age (0.6 days), and likelihood…